Flo Yoga

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I started teaching at Embody Wellness studio when it opened this time last year and I am so pleased we will get to welcome you and have an all-day celebration this Saturday!

Christian De Ponte and Bruce Tegart created a beautiful space in Vauxhall where yoga studios are not as readily at hand as in other parts of London. You walk into an open space that sees the reception area as well as a chilled out lounge where you can sip some delicious tea while reading one of the magazines put at your disposal on the coffee table.

On the first floor is the studio, an airy and light space which is my favourite place to teach in!

The whole centre is an oasis of peace and quiet, and the team of professionals at Embody Wellness can not only help you get healthier and fitter, beauticians Zhanna and Jennifer can also make your skin feel like velvet from head to toe!

If you would like to find  out a little more about this event, please check Embody Wellness’ link: http://embodywellness.co.uk/1st-birthday-open-day.html

I will be closing the event by teaching a Vinyasa Flow class, 16.30-17.15. Please pre-book your space online to avoid any disappointment and see you there.

Happy very first birthday, Embody, and to many more to come!

Here is how to get into this wonderful forward bend. Beyond its physical benefits, you will enjoy its calming effect on the mind.

Feel the vibes!

Physics has proven that the whole universe is made of vibrations which themselves have frequencies, making it the biggest instrument a musician could dream of. Everything that exists vibrates because atoms, the smallest building blocks of matter, vibrate.

A vibration can be defined as “a rapid oscillation of a particle or elastic solid back and forth across a central position” while a frequency is a rate of vibration.

No, you have not made a mistake, you are indeed reading a yoga blog! Physics only confirmed what yogis already knew for centuries. We, as individuals and like everything that exists, are vibrating at various frequencies and yoga is all about raising the good vibrations to promote our health, well-being, a clear mind and our spiritual life.

To this purpose, yogis experimented with and explored various techniques. The whole system of asanas (or postures), meditation, breathing exercises (or Pranayama), prayers, recitations and chanting mantras are just a few.

The word mantra is made of two Sanskrit words. “Man” means “to think, imagine or believe” and “tra” means “a tool, an instrument”. Therefore a mantra is a thought or intention expressed as a sound.

As Beryl Bender Birch writes in her acclaimed book “Power Yoga”, a mantra can be “a single sound or a string of sounds.” They can be composed of sentences, single words and even single syllables.

She goes on saying that “the sound of “Om” is the oldest and most venerated of all yogic mantras. This sacred monosyllable symbolises divine universal energy in both Hindu and Buddhist traditions.”

In an article, Richard Rosen described “om” as the “primordial seed” of the universe. “The whole world is nothing but om.” It is considered the root mantra from which all other mantras emerge and is the seed sound for the sixth energy centre where masculine and feminine energy meet at the centre of the brow.

If you have not already done so, start using mantras in your daily life, whatever resonates with you, beginning with more basic mantras and moving on to more complex ones when you are ready. Remember that what matters is your intent, not some Sanskrit prowess!

Pronunciation is extremely important to reap the full benefits of mantras. If you are unsure of how to pronounce certain words, you can download some albums or reach out to You Tube…!

Enjoy the good vibes. Om shanti!

Every month, I will be writing a blog describing a pose for the amazing Hemsley & Hemsley team. As February saw the start of the Chinese New Year, we thought it fit to take part in the celebrations by honouring The Year of the Snake with the Cobra Pose.

Hips and Backbends Workshop

The change of seasons is always a favourable time to reset our rhythmical clock and with Spring coming our way in about a month, we will welcome more daylight into our lives again and hopefully a little more sunshine too!

Let’s thus celebrate the rebirth of nature by shaking off bad postural habits which inevitably tend to be emphasised during the cold winter months: the slumped shoulders, rounded back and forward head syndrome, curling up in bed in a foetus-like position even!

In this Hips and Backbends workshop, we will reclaim the whole range of movement that is ours by focussing on strengthening and stretching our hips and back as well as reopening the front of the body with backbends.

Don’t worry about your level of flexibly. After all, we will be doing yoga, not contortion…!

Date: Saturday 23rd of March 2013, 14.00-16.00.

Venue: Embody Wellness

St George Wharf, Vauxhall

SW8 2LE

Contact number of The Venue: 020 7099 0048

Cost: £25 (£20 for Early Birds until 16th March)

Please book your space on the Embody Wellness’ website:

www. embodywellness.co.uk

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Flo :-)

Eka Pada Rajakapotanasana Variation

Valentine’s Special

The Locust Pose

I have been invited by Jasmine and Melissa from Hemsley & Hemsley (you will find them on Tumblr too) to contribute to their lovely blog every month, bringing under the spotlight one yoga pose and explaining its benefits as well as how to do do the pose safely.

This month, I decided to pick Salabhasana or Locust pose. Read the blog to find out why and how!

http://hemsleyandhemsley.tumblr.com/post/41714675153/position-of-the-month-salabhasana-pose

Rain, sweet rain…

Like so many of us, my year started with my non-friend Flu and let me tell you, I was not impressed. As it is taking a little more time than I thought to shake off the post-sickness-induced lethargy, I have been feeling admittedly a bit blue. Sickness aside, January is often a month synonym of anti-climax after spending time with friends and family over Christmas and New Year. 

But after reading the latest blog of my friend Lorna Clansey, I finally woke up from a desire to hibernate and sulk. She is on Tumblr so check her out, it will be give you the incentive to get up and go: http://lornaclansey.tumblr.com/

Last weekend, I did stuff I had not put in the diary for too long and actually missed. I treated myself to The Sleeping Beauty by Kenneth MacMillan and the next day, I went to the The Rain room by Random International at The Barbican Centre. Yes, it was a 3-hour-wait last Saturday, but how magical it was to finally walk into this darkened room with the sound of the rain indoors! It took me down memory lane and reminded me of some caves in Laos as well as a school trip in France.

And that is all that was needed: actually getting out there and being exposed to the skills and visions of great artists. Thanks to them, past, present and future, you are keeping humanity afloat!

Of course, it can often be even more simple: a nice cup of Horlicks or a hot apple juice. The point is whatever it is that makes you tick and smile, make time for it and the January blues will be no more!

The Rain room by Random International